Can we talk about my lack of planning ahead?

I’m leaving to go home tonight because thankfully, I’m finally going to become a U.S. Citizen! Yay!! My Naturalization Oath Ceremony takes place in San Francisco this coming Thursday and like any good employee, I’m hopping a plane back to Chile the following day. It’s bad enough that when I’m out of the “office” and in another country I feel completely disconnected and this is going to be the case from Tuesday – Friday of this week. Good of me to then be responsible and hop a plane back following the ceremony.

Oh except that it JUST occurred to me that the second I become a U.S. Citizen, my green card is going to be taken away (replaced by an official document that states I am a U.S. Citizen) … and I won’t YET have a U.S. Passport … so I ask myself, how on Earth is this going to work out? And why didn’t I plan ahead and do all my researching about this before TODAY, the day I’m leaving?

Can I leave the U.S. without a green card? Even if I show my document stating I’m a citizen, won’t there be an issue with me being a US Citizen traveling with a Chilean passport? I’m so confused!! Will the airport people not care? Will they call INS on me? Ack!!

I have no idea what’s going to happen. All I know is that after I enter the U.S. and take my Oath, I won’t have the correct travel documents to return to Chile. For all I know, I CAN leave…but then what if I can’t? What currently looks like a week-long stay in CA can quickly turn into a one-month wait for my U.S. passport to be processed.

Can I cry at my lack of organization and forethought??? Please?